Tapered crimping wheels



SePt- 1 1964 E. P. CREIGHTON, .1R 3,146,803

TAPERED CRIMPING WHEELS Filed sept. e, 1961 3 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Sept- 1, 1964 y E. P. CREIGHTON, JR 3,146,803

TAPERED CRIMPING WHEELS Filed Sept. 6, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y@ Y INVENTOR.

Sept. 1, 1964 E. P. cRElGHToN, JR 3,146,803

TAPERED CRIMPING WHEELS Filed Sept. 6, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 f. m@ M25 H* i'- 7INVENT United States Patent O 3,146,893 TAPEREI) CRIMIING WHEELS Everett l. Creighton, fir., Cambridge, Md., assigner to The Cambridge Wire Cloth Company, Cambridge, Md., a company of Maryland Filed Sept. 6, 196i, Ser. No. 136,297 3 Claims. (Ci. 14h-IGS) The present invention relates to crimping wheels, and more particularly to wheels for use in crimping wire.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a pair of coactng crimping wheels which are provided with tapered teeth on their outer periphery or circumference so that as wire moves between the pair of wheels, the wire will be crimped in the desired or required manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a means lfor compensating for variances and deviations that occur to cause ordinary crimping wheels to vary the number of Crim-ps per linear foot formed in the wire, and wherein according to the present invention an adjustment can be made to permit the operator to secure the proper count on crimp wires.

A still further object is to provide crimping wheels which are constructed `so that the number of teeth on a given wheel remains constant, and wherein the operator merely has to move the wire to a ditferent position relative to the wheels `to gain or drop crimps and thus maintain the standard count in whatever length wire is required or desired, the crimping wheels of the present invention being machined to a taper to accomplish these results, or advantages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described that is adapted to .minimize errors productive of Wasted labor and material in the cutting of structural members or formation of crimped wire.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described that may be utilized speedily and with precision by even inexperienced operators.

Further objects and advantages are to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a device of the character described that is economical to produce, durable in form, and conducive to the most economical use of materials and uniformity of members formed therefrom.

Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from the subsequent description and specication.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the crimping Wheels of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1. A

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating certain constructional details of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view, with parts broken away and in section, showing a portion of the adjustable guide mechanism.

FIGURES 6 and 7 are elevational views showing portions of the crimped wire made at different positions of the device shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional View taken through the movable base member of the adjustable guide mechanism.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary elevational View, with parts broken away and in section, similar to the view shown in FIGURE 1, but illustrating a modification and being taken generally on the line 9-9 of FIGURE 11.

lllh Patented Sept. l, 1964 ice FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary sectional view showing certain constructional details of the modification of FIG- URE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 11-11 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURES 12 and 13 are fragmentary elevational views showing a portion of the crimped wire formed with the arrangement of FIGURE 11.

Referring in detail to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURES 1 through 8 of the drawings, the numeral 20 indicates a support member or frame member which is provided with openings 22 therein, FIG- URE 2, and there is provided shafts or axles 21 which extend through the openings 22, and the shafts 21 have enlarged heads 23 on an end thereof. A bearing or sleeve 25 is rotatably mounted on each shaft 21, and the numeral 24 indicates drive gears which are arranged contiguous to the support member 20, and the drive gears 24 are keyed as at 26 to the rotary sleeve 25. Gear members 27 have teeth which mesh with the teeth on the drive gears 24, and the gear members 27 may be driven from any suitable power source.

As shown in the drawings, there is provided a pair of coacting crimping wheels 2S which have the same construction, and the crimping wheels 28 include first and second at surfaces 29 and 30 which are arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to each other, and the crimping wheels 2S each have a generally frustroconical shape in cross section, and the surface 29 is larger than the surface 30, for a purpose to be later described, and there is further provided on the outer periphery or outer circumference of each crimping wheel 28 a plurality of teeth 31 which are arranged along a tapered surface 32 at the outer periphery of the crimping wheel, and the teeth 31 are arranged on the taper and these teeth 31 are adapted to intermesh and coact to crimp Wire such as the wire 33 which passes between the intermeshing teeth 31 of the crimping wheels 28.

There is further provided an adjustable guide means or mechanism which is indicated generally by the numeral 34, and the guide means 34 is shown to cornprise a frame piece 35 which includes a wall portion 36 that is adapted to be suitably secured to the support member 2@ as for example by means of the securing elements 37, FIGURE 4. The frame piece 35 further includes a pair of spaced parallel arms or rails 38, and there is a crosspiece 39 which is secured to the ends of the arms 3S as at 4i). The numeral 41 indicates a screw member which is arranged in threaded engagement with the crosspiece 39, and a hand gripping portion 42 is adapted to be arranged on the outer end of the screw member 41. The inner end of the screw member 41 is connected to an adjustable or slidable base member 43, as for example by means of a set screw 44, and the base member 43 is provided with an aperture or opening 45 therein for the projection therethrough of the wire 33. The numeral 46 indicates an indicator mark on the slidable or movable base member 43, and the indicator mark 46 is adapted to coact with scale markings or indicia 47 on an arm 38.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the crimping wheels 28 are adapted to be keyed to the sleeve 25.

Referring now to FIGURES 9 through 13 of the drawings, there is illustrated a modification wherein the numeral 48 indicates a portion of a support member which is provided with openings -or slots 49 therein, and the numeral Sli indicates shafts Ior axles which extend through the openings 59, and the shafts 5t) each includes a reduced diameter portion 51 which may be threaded for a portion of its length, and each shaft Si? further includes a section 52 of increased diameter as well as an enlarged head 53, and there is provided a bearing or sleeve 54 which is rotatably mounted on the section 52.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided a means whereby wire such as the wire 33 can be accurately crimped and in use with the parts arranged as shown in the drawings, and in particular shown in FIGURES 1 through 8 of the drawings, it will be seen that the wire 33 is adapted to be supplied from a suitable source of supply, and this wire 33 extends through the openings 45 in the adjustable base member 43, and the Wire then extends between the pair of coacting crimping wheels 3Q. As shown in FIGURE 1, the wire 33 is adapted to move from right to left, and before the wire moves between the crimping wheels, the wire is straight or smooth, and after the wire leaves the crimping wheels it is crimped as indicated by the numeral 33 in FIGURE 1. This crimping occurs due to the intermeshing coacting teeth 3l which form the desired number of crimps in the wire. The crimped wire that is formed with the wheels of the present invention can be used for any desired purpose, as for example it can be used in fabricating wire cloth, conveyor belts, metal fabrications, gripper slings, or the like. The drawings illustrate only one form of power mechanism that can be used for operating the crimping wheels 2S, but it is to be understood that the present invention is mainly directed to the construction of the tapered crimping wheels and the accessories such as the driving gear mechanism `and the like can be varied as desired or required. As shown in the drawings, the gear members 27 are adapted to be driven from a suitable power mechanism whereby with the teeth of the gears 27 meshing with the teeth of the gears 24, it will be seen that the gears 24 will be rotated, and since the gears 24 are keyed as `at 26 to the sleeves 25 on the shafts 21, it will be seen that 4the sleeves 25 will rotate. Since the pair of tapered crimping wheels 28 are keyed as at 26 to the sleeves 25, it will be seen that as the sleeves rotate, the crimping wheels 28 will likewise rotate so that the wire 33 will be crimped as 4shown in FIGURE l as the wire passes between the coacting wheels 28. The support member 20 may be `any suitable type of frame work or supporting structure and the axles or shafts 21 extend through the openings 22 in the support member Ztl and have the enlarged heads 23 thereon, whereby with a nut or the like, arranged in engagement with the threaded end portion of the shaft 21, the parts will be maintained in their proper assembled position.

rl`he adjustable guide mechanism 34 is constructed so that the wire 33 can be moved in or out, or for example lthe wire 33 can be moved towards the faces 30 or away from the faces towards the faces 29, as desired or required. This is possible due to the construction of the adjustable guide mechanism 34 which includes the frame piece 35 that is secured as at 37 to the support member 20, and the base member 43 can be adjusted in the frame 35 by manually rotating the screw member 41 by means of the hand gripping portion 42. That is, the screw member 41 is arranged in threaded engagement with `the crosspiece 39, and the inner end of the screw member 41 is connected as at 44 to the sliding base piece or head 43 so that by properly manually rotating the screw member 41 by means of the element 42, the base member 43 will slide along the bars 38 to the desired position. Since the wire 33 extends through the aperture 45 in the sliding base member 43, it will be seen that this adjustable movement of the base member 43 will cause the wire 33 to be moved towards or away from the faces 29 or 30 so that the wire can be positioned at the desired rotation in order to form the particular number of crimps that is desired for a given length of wire. The base member 43 is provided with a suitable indicating mark or pointer 46 thereon. FIGURE 5, and this indicator mark 46 is adapted to coact with suitable scale markings or indicia 47 `on an adjacent portion of the bar 38 so as to provide a means for accurately setting the base member at the desired location, and the guide mechanism may be suitably calibrated to permit accurate adjustments thereof.

It is to be noted that the crimping wheels 23 are not perfectly cylindrical, that is in cross section they have a generally frustro-conical configuration so that for example the surface 3) is of less cross sectional area than the surface 29, and the face 32 is tapered and the teeth 31 are correspondingly tapered, as for example as shown in FIG- URE 3. That is, with the parts arranged as shown in the FlGURE 3, it will be seen that there is a greater space -or distance between the edges of the teeth 31 that points contiguous to the surface 3%, than there is between the teeth 31 that points contiguous to the surface 29.

FIGURES 3, 6, and 7 illustrate the action of the tapered crimping wheels of the present invention, and for example in FIGURE 3, 33A indicates one position of the wire being crimped, and with the wire in the position 33A, a crimped wire will result such as that shown in FIGURE 6. Or, the adjustable guide mechanism 34 may be adjusted so that the wire is in the position 33B of FIGURE 3 so that a crimped wire 33B of FIGURE 7 will result. The crimped wire 33A of FIGURE 6 has longer crimps than the wire of FIGURE 7 so that the wire of FIGURE 7 has shorter crimps than the wire of FIGURE 6.

As shown in FIGURE 10 for example, the support member 43 may be provided with shoulder portions 55, and a washer or retainer 56 is adapted to be positioned contiguous to the shoulder 55, and the numeral 57 indicates a nut or fastener which is arranged in threaded engagement with the threaded portion 51 of the shaft 50 for maintaining the parts in their proper assembled position.

Drive gears 5S are adapted to be positioned contiguous to the support member 48, and there is provided gear members 59 which have teeth that mesh with the drive gear teeth, and the gear member 59 may be driven by any suitable means. The drive gears 58 as well as the crimping wheels 6) may be keyed as at 65 to a rotary sleeve yor bearing 54 on the section 52 or the shaft 50. The crimping wheels each have the same construction and each include rst and second spaced parallel surfaces 61 and 62 as well as a tapered or inclined circumference or periphery 63, `and wherein there is provided a plurality of tapered teeth 64 on the outer periphery of each crimping wheel 60. The crimping wheels are adapted to have a frustro-conical shape in cross section.

Attention is now directed to FIGURES 9 through 13 of the drawings, wherein there is illustrated a modification, and instead of using the adjustable guide mechanism 34, -the crimping wheels 60 are adapted to be adjusted or moved towards and away from each other to accomplish the same result. Power for operating the tapered crimping wheels 60 may be provided in any suitable manner, as for example the gears 59 may be driven from a suitable power source so as to cause rotation of the gears 58, and since the gears 58 are keyed as at 65 to the sleeve 54 which is rotatably mounted on a section 52 of the shaft 50, it will be seen that with the tapered crimping wheels 60 keyed as at 65 to the sleeve 54, that this will result in the desired rotation of the pair of crimping wheels 60, and with the teeth 64 interi'ltting or intermeshing as shown in FIGURE 9, the wire 33 passing between the crimping wheels will be crimped to have the formation as indicated by the numeral 33.

The crimping wheels are mounted on shafts 50 which extend through slots or openings 49 that are of a larger diameter or size than the section 51 of the shafts 50, so that for example by loosening the nut 57 the shaft 50 can be adjusted or moved in the opening 49 to the desired location, and then the nut 57 is adapted to be tightened in order to maintain the shaft 50 stationary in its adjusted position. Since the shafts 50 carry the crimping wheels, it will be seen that this adjustable movement of the shafts 50 will cause corresponding adjustment of the crimping wheels 60, and this adjustment or movement of the crimping wheels 60 towards and away from each other can be used for forming the desired number of crimps in the wire per given length of wire as desired or required. The pair of crimping wheels 60 each have the same construction and each has a generally frustreconical shape in cross section and each crimping wheel 60 includes spaced parallel surfaces 61 and 62 as well as a tapered periphery or circumference 63, and there is provided the tapered teeth 64, and as shown in FIGURE for example, the teeth 64 are closer together adjacent the faces 61 than they are adjacent the faces 62 at the point where the teeth intermesh or interfit. As shown in FIGURE 12, a crimped wire 33A is adapted to be formed when the wheels 60 are adjusted a greater distance away from each other, as for example as compared to the formation of the crimped wire 33B of FIGURE 13 which results when the crimping wheels are in a closer position relative to each other, and FIGURE 11 illustrates in dotted lines the relative position of the crimping wheels during the formation of the crimped wires 33A or 33B of FIGURES 12 and 13.

The parts can be made of any suitable material and in different shapes or sizes.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the arm may be scribed with marks as indicated by the numeral 47 to correspond to various settings or counts, and the member 43 functions as a wire guide, and the element 41 serves as an adjusting screw. The diameter of the aperture or opening 45 can be varied as desired or required.

With the present invention, as for example as shown in FIGURES 9 through 13, the rolls or crimping wheels 60 can be adjusted to secure a definite dimension y, as shown in FIGURE 13 for example, for all sizes of wire and types of material. Thus, by positioning the wire at a certain point on the wheels and adjusting the top roll 60 vertically to secure a stated depth of crimp x, FIGURES 12 and 13, there would then be secured a definite spread y.

In actual practice, the taper on the wheels or rolls is quite small, such as on the order of .010 inch or .015 inch, and the drawings illustrate this enlarged for a purpose of clarification, but in no case would the large diameter be so great as to prevent the small diameter from maintaining the proper depth of crimps.

With further reference to FIGURES 12 and 13, the depth x remains constant by adjusting the wheels vertically in relation to each other. Due to the difference in length of the circumference, a wire crimped in position of FIGURE l2 will have a longer center distance y', FIG- URE 12, than one crimped in position y of FIGURE 13.

When the crimping wheels or rolls are kept in the same relative position to each other, a long and short crimp can be formed in the wire. Or, these rolls can be adjusted vertically or moved toward or away from each other, so as to keep the depth x constant, FIGURES l2 and 13, and it is to be noted that a wire crimped in FIGURE 12 position to a specified depth of crimp x will measure a certain center distance y. If the rolls are adjusted vertically, so that a wire being crimped in position B of FIGURE 13, as compared to the position A of FIGURE 12, then the wire will have the same depth of crimp x and the dimension y will be slightly longer than the dimension y.

In view of the fact that the mechanism for adjusting the rolls 60 vertically in relation to each other is a standard part of a commercial crimping wheel or machine, the same has not been illustrated or described in detail.

With further reference to the wire guide mechanism 34, this mechanism consists of a member 43 with a hole 45 having a diameter to suit the particular size wire being formed, and the member 43 is adjustable along the face 32 of the crimping wheels. The top of the adjusting mechanism is adapted to have a series of scribed lines 47 which are reference marks for the operator to use in setting up the wheels to correspond to the various settings or counts in the wires. No guiding device is necessary on the outside of the wheels where the finished wire emerges, and the wires 33 merely run into a trough and is adapted to be cut off at the proper length.

In the construction of certain types of wire mesh belts, a connecting wire must be used that contains a specified number of uniform compressions. These compressions are known as crimps and the finished wire is known as a crimped wire. These crimps are formed by passing the wire between the two machined wheels known as crimping wheels, and the present invention covers the design and construction of such wheels.

The wheels are adapted to be made of tool steel and in varying dimensions depending upon the piece of equipment required to do the crimping operation. The face or surface 32 or 63 of the wheels is machined to a denite taper, and the amount of this taper or slant varies with the diameter of the wheels and the number of teeth required for a given number of crimps. Teeth are cut around the circumference of wheels to the desired number of crimps required. For example, four crimps to the inch, six crimps to the inch or the like.

In use, the wheels are mounted on machine with both surfaces 29 or 61 in line against a shaft collar or the like, and the wheels are held in place by any suitable manner such as by friction of an outer collar, and locking nut, and the wheels are adjusted together the exact amount to secure the proper depth of crimp in the finished wire, and the wire is then fed through a guide into the wheels emerging as a crimped wire of the proper counts.

The following is given as a list of some of the advantages of the present invention over existing methods. During the processes involved in the manufacture of crimping wheels, certain variances and deviations occur which make the finished wheels different from established standard. For example, machining tolerances or heat treating procedures may cause slight variations in the dimensions of the finished wheels, and these variations will cause the wheel to vary the number of crimps per linear foot formed in the wire. These deviations are more noticeable on long length wires than on short length wires. For example a wheel manufactured to produce four crimps per inch may produce ninety-six crimps in twenty-four inches within the dimensional tolerance of the wire mesh belt. However in a belt forty-eight inches wide the variance may cause the wheels to produce only one hundred ninety-one crimps instead of one hundred ninety-two crimps. This deviation is a serious deterent to the manufacture of standard count belting.

With the existing designs of crimping wheels no adjustments are available to permit the operator to secure the proper count on crimped wires but with the present invention such adjustments are available. The number of teeth on a given wheel remains constant. However, the diameter, and therefore, the circumference varies. The diameter and circumference of the surface 29 or surface 61 is larger than the diameter and circumference of the surfaces 30 or 62. This means that a wire passed through the wheels close the surfaces 29 or 61 would have less crimps per linear foot than a wire passed through the wheels close to the surfaces 30 or 62. The wheels are adapted to be designed so as to be calculated to be standard diameter in the center of the surfaces 32 or 63, and this will allow deviations plus or minus from the standard diameter.

By using this principle, the operator merely has to move the wire to the different position on the wheels to/gain or drop a crimp and maintain the standard count and whatever length wire it requires. Instead of using the adjusting mechanism 34 to move the wire, the wheels may be moved and the wire may be maintained stationar as shown in FIGURE ll to accomplish the same result, and as shown in the drawing, the two crimping wheels of each set are adapted to be machined or formed to a taper to form the crimp wires, for the previously described purposes.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the scope of the invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described adapted to receive a Wire to be crimped, a support member having a pair of openings therein, shafts extending through said openings and including threaded sections and an enlarged head thereon cooperating to secure said shaft to said support, sleeves on said shafts, drive gears on said shafts, said drive gears arranged contiguous to said support sleeves on said shafts, and said drive gears being keyed to the sleeves on said shafts, gear means meshing with said gears, crimping wheels keyed to said sleeve in relatively close proximity to one another, and said crimping wheels being arranged contiguous to said drive gears, each of said crimping wheels having a generally frustum shape and each crimping wheel including first and second surfaces and an outer circumferential face having teeth thereon, said first surface being of a greater diameter than said second surface, the teeth on said circumferential face being cut and arranged on a taper, said support further including means to locate the wire to be crimped on a partion of the taper corresponding to the crimping desired.

2. A device as dened in claim 1 wherein said means to locate the wire includes a frame piece having a wall portion secured to said support member at a point adjacent said wheels and midway between said shafts, arm means adapted to receive the wire to be crimped and means to move said arm means on an axis perpendicular to said support.

3. A device as defined in claim 1 wherein said means to locate the wire includes a reduced diameter portion on said shaft in said openings, said reduced portion being smaller than said openings, means on the end of said reduced diameter portion to adjustably secure said shaft to said support.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 134,170 Scott Dec. 24, 1872 2,712,835 Sampatacos et al. July 12, 1955 2,963,048 Smith Dec. 6, 1960 

1. IN A DEVICE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A WIRE TO BE CRIMPED, A SUPPORT MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF OPENINGS THEREIN, SHAFTS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND INCLUDING THREADED SECTIONS AND AN ENLARGED HEAD THEREON COOPERATING TO SECURE SAID SHAFT TO SAID SUPPORT, SLEEVES ON SAID SHAFTS, DRIVEN GEARS ON SAID SHAFTS, SAID DRIVE GEARS ARRANGED CONTIGUOUS TO SAID SUPPORT SLEEVES ON SAID SHAFTS, AND SAID DRIVE GEARS BEING KEYED TO THE SLEEVES ON SAID SHAFTS, GEAR MEANS MESHING WITH SAID GEARS, CRIMPING WHEELS KEYED TO SAID SLEEVE IN RELATIVELY CLOSE PROXIMITY TO ONE ANOTHER, AND SAID CRIMPING WHEELS BEING ARRANGED CONTIGUOUS TO SAID DRIVE GEARS, EACH OF 